


The Ginger-Haired Boy

by madridistagoblue



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux Lives, Brendol Hux's A+ Parenting, Force Visions, Gen, Gingerpilot Week, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Soulmates, Time Skips, mentions of PTSD flashbacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:27:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25227541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madridistagoblue/pseuds/madridistagoblue
Summary: When he was eight years old, Poe had a vision of a ginger-haired boy that he thought might be his soulmate. Now that he's an adult, he knows the truth. That ginger-haired boy is one of the most dangerous men in the galaxy.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47
Collections: Gingerpilot Week 2020





	The Ginger-Haired Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Gingerpilot Week 2020  
> Day 2: Soulmates

_“Who are you?”_

_The lanky boy with ginger hair lay on the ground, a cut bleeding from his lower lip. With a grunt he dug his elbows into the mud, raising his upper body with great effort. The rain began to fall more rapidly, causing once dry dirt stains to run down the front of his grey uniform._

_“Get up, Armitage,” a voice in the distance commanded with disdain. “Or are you going to lie down like a coward?_

_“I’m not a coward,” the boy yelled angrily, grabbing a wooden staff that lay at his side. With gritted teeth, he pulled himself off the ground, breathing heavily as he stood._

_Poe felt his heart beating quickly in his chest. “Who are you?” He asked again. “Can I help you?”_

_The boy – Armitage – ran forward with his weapon, charging towards another boy who looked to be about his own age. The boy clapped him in the back with his own staff, and once again, Armitage fell. But this time he hit the dirt hard, falling unconscious._

_The scene changed suddenly. Armitage was now awake, kneeling in a dark room. An orange cat with vibrant fur that matched Armitage’s hair stood at his feet. He pet the cat gently. Bacta patches covered his arms and his lower lip. Suddenly, Armitage turned, as though he were facing Poe directly. But Poe wasn’t there. Was he?_

_“Who are you?”_

_Poe’s breath faltered. The boy could see him?_

_“I’m Poe. Poe Dameron.”_

_“Dameron…” a wry smile crossed the boy’s stern face. “Are you here to help?”_

_***_

Poe awoke with a start, breath heavy. He reached up to his forehead, feeling damp remnants of sweat. He pushed away the thin blanket that covered him and sat up as far as possible in his lower bunk. That dream again. Why couldn’t he be rid of it?

He took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through parted lips. It was just a dream, he told himself – a nightmare, perhaps. He inhaled again. But it wasn’t just a dream, was it?

He closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind by losing himself in the silence of the room. However, his attempt at meditation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps outside. Someone else couldn’t sleep. He was pretty sure he knew who. And maybe, she could help.

***

“Poe?” General Leia Organa beckoned him forward with a motion of her hand. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I could say the same about you, General.”

She smiled, motioning towards a pair of chairs in the middle of the command center. Radar systems and strategy maps illuminated the otherwise dim room in a maze of blue and green, sensors ready to sound the alarm even as the Resistance slept. Such was the nature of war. 

“Did something happen?” Leia asked, as they sat down. Under the light of the maps, Poe could see dark circles under her eyes, but he didn’t dare ask her the same question. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know until morning.

“It was a dream.”

“A dream?” Leia’s lips turned in confusion for a moment, but suddenly her eyes lit up. “Let me guess…you think it may be a message from the Force?”

Poe nodded. “I’m used to nightmares, flashbacks even. I dream about being captured by the First Order, or the wings of Black One being shot. But this dream…isn’t just a dream, exactly.”

“How so?”

Poe closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Do you remember the tree that Luke gave my family?”

Leia nodded in affirmation.

“When I was eight years old, after my mom died, I went to out to the tree. My dad and my grandparents were busy with arrangements and comforting other mourners. I remember having the distinct feeling that I would always be alone. So, I rested my head against the tree, and I asked out loud, ‘will I always feel so alone?’”

“And the tree responded?” Leia smiled, in the way that only someone of her years with all her knowledge could. Poe tried to take comfort in it, but he couldn’t. He was sure that smile was about to fade the moment he revealed the truth.

“Yes. I saw a boy, a few years older than me. He was injured and being forced to fight against his will. At the end of the vision, he was alone in a room with a cat, and he turned to look at me. He asked me for my name and asked me if I was there to help. That’s when the vision stopped.”

“So, what do you think it means?”

“Well, when I was a kid, I thought it was the answer to my question. I had asked the tree if I would be alone, and it showed me someone around my age. I thought it was a future friend or...” he shook his head, laughing. It felt so ridiculous to say aloud, even though he had once believed it. Especially now.

“Or what?”

“My soulmate.”

Leia chuckled and took Poe by the hand. “It isn’t silly, Poe, if that’s what worries you. The Force shows us the world as it truly exists – the balance between the light and the dark; between life and death.”

“I know,” Poe replied, pulling his hand away. “And that’s what worries me.” He looked Leia in the eyes, sitting up in his chair to steel himself. “I can see the boy in my vision clearly. And he had a name. Armitage.”

As Poe predicted, the upturned corners of Leia’s lips fell flat, as realization flashed in her eyes. She withdrew the hand that was still partially outstretched towards Poe. “You mean…”

“General Armitage Hux. The one responsible for the destruction of the Hosnian System.”

Leia sighed, wringing her hands against her robes, and closed her eyes.

“I gave up on the soulmate idea way before I knew who he was. I made friends. I dated. I started wondering if the entire thing was just a dream, or a trauma memory. But its never gone away. I keep seeing it. I saw it again tonight. And for some reason…I can’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t a dream. The vision I saw of the General as a boy was real.”

Leia opened her eyes, her gaze rigidly fixed upon Poe. “Poe, do you trust me?”

“I do, Leia – General.”

She reached out her hand again. “Take my hand again.”

Poe forced a smile and reached out, allowing his hand to rest in the general’s. She clasped it gently and closed her eyes.

“What do you see?”

“I’m not trying to see anything, Poe. I’m just feeling the Force as it moves through you. I have the sense that you’re right. The Force feels especially strong. I don’t think it was a dream.” She opened her eyes and let go. “Thank you.”

Poe retracted his hand slowly, looking down at his palm as if it could somehow show him a visible sign of the Force’s presence. In some ways it was comforting to know that this wasn’t his imagination. But if it was real…what did it mean? It didn’t matter how terrible General Hux’s childhood had been. Why would he ally himself with the man who had created Starkiller Base? Why did the Force want him to see that? Was it trying to weaken his resolve? Was it because the General’s passion for his Imperial ambitions somehow matched Poe’s fervor for democracy? Were they really soulmates…in that sense?   
  
“Poe, the Force shows us the truth. But there are many true paths that our lives could take. The light side of the force and the dark side of the force; chaos and peace; death and life – they exist inside of all of us. It’s our choices that determine what our future will become. And General Hux’s choices that will determine his. Don’t be afraid. Every day you get to make the choices you believe in, Commander. And the future will reveal itself to you.”

***

“General!” Lt. Connix called, racing towards the center of the room. “General, I have an urgent message.”

Poe gestured for the pilot he was speaking with to excuse him and turned towards the lieutenant. “What is it?”

“He’s requesting an audience with you, sir. I wanted to send him away, but General Finn insisted that I pass the message along. You’re not obligated to. I can have him arrested.”

“Who?”

“Our intelligence said he was dead, but…”

“Who, Lieutenant?” Poe felt his heart rise in his chest. There was only one person it could be. Had he really survived? He wasn’t sure exactly what emotion he was feeling, just a surge of adrenaline pulsing through his body.

“General Hux, sir. Or…formerly, General.”

“Make sure he’s unarmed and given binders. I want to see for myself,”

“Yes, sir,” Connix replied with a small nod of the head. “He’s just outside, in the holding cell.”

Poe followed Connix to the place where Hux was being kept. He was badly injured. His leg was bandaged, and a brace surrounded his chest. He was still wearing his uniform, but the arms were tattered. There was dried blood on his lower lip. Just like in the vision.

Poe wasn’t sure how to view the General now. As the ginger haired boy in his vision? The man who destroyed the Hosnian system? The one who helped Poe and his friends escape?

“I should think you for saving my life,” Poe said. “But I can’t assure you that it forgives your other crimes.”

Hux nodded, casting his normally strong green eyes towards the floor. Something in those eyes reminded Poe of the boy he’d seen in his dreams.

Poe took a deep breath. Is this where the vision had been leading him all along? Was there something in this moment that he was meant to do?

 _Don’t be afraid,_ Poe remembered Leia saying. _Every day you get to make the choices you believe in, Commander. And the future will reveal itself to you._

He wasn’t sure how this would end. But he was sick of death, destruction, and war. He knew what he wanted to do in this moment. That was enough.

“Grant the General the audience he requests with me,” Poe ordered.

One day…the future would reveal itself…


End file.
